Method of making u-packing



Patented Aug. 9, 1921.

T CROSSETT METHOD OF MAKING U-PACKING.

APPLICATION vnuso MAY 29.1919.

PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS CROSSETT, 0F BROOKLYN, NEXV YORK.

METHOD OF MAKING U-PACKING.

Application filed May 29, 1919.

L '0 all whom it may concern:

Be it knownthat I, THOMAS Cnossnrr, a citizen of the United States, and resident of borough of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Making U-Pa'cking, of which the following is a specification.

Heretofore, so far as I am aware, U- packings have been made by means of a twopart die, one part of which has an annular groove and the other part has an annular projection to force a corresponding portion of a disk of leather into said groove,'leaving an intermediate portion of the disk to be cut out. Such forcing of the leather necessarily stretches the parts thereof that enter the groove to such an extent as to injure the leather with consequent weakening of it, whereby the U-packing so formed will crack in places and wear out quickly and will permit leakage at the joint the packing is 1ntended to make tight. Another disadvantage is that the aforesaid stretching of the leather has the effect to make the packing thinner at the bottom of its U-groove than at the sides, rendering the packing weakest at the bottom of the U-groove where it should be the strongest.

The object of my invention is to produce U-packing without stretching the material thereof into a groove in a die and without injuring the material.

In carrying out my invention I first fold a portion of a disk of leather or other suitable material over a'centrally disposed annular block or disk member by means of an outer loose ring forced against the part of the disk that protrudes beyond the block; then, with such ring in place, I flare outwardly the skirt portion of the disk, and by means of another loose ring, larger in diameter than the first named ring, I force said skirt portion of the disk around the outer surface of the first named ring, thereby forming the corresponding portion of the disk into U-shape. When said block and rings are removed from the folded material the intermediate portion of the material will be removed and the edges of the U-shaped ring so produced will be .trimmed to effect the desired dimension of the resulting U- packing. Instead of unduly stretching the material for the packing first over the inner block and then over the first ring used, said material is more or less crowded to- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 9, 1921. Serial No. 300,652.

gethcr or compacted at the portions that form the side walls of the U-packing, and since the portion that forms the bottom of the U-shape is merely folded over the edge of the first named ring, said bottom portion is usually more or less thicker than the side walls, giving increased strength at the bottom of the packing groove. The leather required for the packing need be of no greater thickness than that required in the finished product.

In the accompanying drawings I have lllustrated means for producing my improved U-packing in accordance with my novel method, wherein- Figure 1 is a central sectional view illustrating the first step in folding the material for the packing;

Fig. 2 is a similar view illustrating the paiits ready for final folding of the materia Fig. 3 illustrates the parts of the mold or die assembled and the material therein folded in U-shape;

Fig. 4 is an edge view of the folded mater1a Fig. 5 is a cross section of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a partly sectional View illustrating my improved U-packing and I Fig. 7 is a plan view of the three concen trio members of the mold.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views.

The numeral 1 indicatesthe inner member of the mold or die, shown in circular blocklike form, 2 indicates a ring of greater diameter than member 1, to fit around the same, and 3 indicates an outer ring of greater diameter than ring 2 to fit around the latter. A disk 4 of leather or other suitable material for the U-packing is placed centrally upon member 1, with the marginal portion of the disk protruding beyond said member, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 1. Said disk will be of suitable diameter to produce the desired packing. Mold 1 will be placed upon a suitable support and ring 2 will be placed against the disk outside of member 1 and forced along the outside of said'member 'to fold the material thereover, as illustrated in Fig. 1. The operation described produces a substantially cupshaped part of the material having an annularwall extending substantially at right angles to the mid-portion 4 and with a skirtlike portion 4 of the material protruding I tained in place, said plate forming an abutment for ring 2 for the next step of the op eration.- The parts assembled as stated may be reversed in position for the next step as indicated in Fig. 2, although such reversal is not necessary. The skirt portion 4* of material 4 may be pressed outwardly and backward in the direction of ring 2 to receive the ring 3 as shown in Fig. 3. Ring 3 is next forced against the skirt portion 4P and around the ring 2 to fold the portion 45 reversely along and around the exterior of said ring, the material being folded against the edge 2 of ring 2 substantially as shown in Fig. 3, whereby the material is folded in so-called U-shapein annular form with the walls spaced concentrically outside of the central portion 4:. In case the material 4, such as leather, shall have been soaked in water, oil, or other liquid, it is preferable to allow the material to dry with the mold parts assembled thereon, as in Fig.3. When the mold parts have been removed from the folded material the central portion 4& will be cut away producing a U-shaped ring, and the edges of the walls of said ring will. be trimmed to suit requirements, resulting in the completed U-packing in ring-like form as shown in Fig. 6.

.The material is, not merely stretched to fold it over the edge of mold member 1, nor to fold it over the edge 2 of ring 2, since in both instances the extended portion of the material is free, and at the folded part 49 the material is folded over the edge 2 of ring 2 without being crowded or stretched whereby in the finished product the packing may be thicker at 4 than along the side walls in case slight stretching of such walls may have occurred. An advantage of my invention is that the leather required for making the packing need be of no greater thickness than'that called for in thefinished product. The parts of thepacking exposed to wear having been compressed and hardened in forming the packing results in increased life and utility thereof,

since the material is not cracked nor torn while being folded and danger of leakage used with any outside diameter of another part, and theinner ring 2 is the only one requiring change for producing two different packings having the same inside diameter anddifferent outside diameter or dif- 'ferent thickness of leather or other material.

The parts of the mold may be made of any desired material, such as brass, cast or wrought iron or steel, or any desired com-- bination of the same, or one or more of the parts may be made of suitable wood. The parts of the mold may be used by hand operation or in a suitable press.

I do not in this application claim the mold for making U-packing herein set forth as the same is included in my divisional application filed February10, 1920, Serial Number 357,655. 1

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Pat entis: r

1. 'The method of makingU-packing con sisting in folding a piece of suitable material to form a wall extending from the midportion of the material and then folding the protruding portion of said material reversely outside of and spaced from said wall and surrounding the same substantially parallel thereto. l

2. The method of making U-packing consisting in folding a suitable piece of material in substantially cup-likeform having a protruding skirt-like portion and then folding the latter portion reversely around and out-' side of said. cup-like portion 'and removing surplus material to produce a substantially U-shaped ring having walls spaced apart-.

3. The method of making U-packing consisting in first folding a disk of suitable material in cup-like form having a wall ex tending substantially at right angles to the mid-portion of the disk with askirt-like portion protruding from said'wall, next pressing the skirt-likeportion outwardly, then folding the skirt like portion reversely around and outside of the first named wall,

removing the mid-portionof the disk to truding from said ring, pressing backwardly.

the portion of the disk protruding from the ring, then folding said protruding portion of said material around said ring concentric thereof to produce'concentric walls of said material, and removing the mid-portion of the disk and the surplus material at the edges of the concentric walls. 7

-Signed at New York, in {the county of New York and State of New Yorkthis 27th day of May, A. D. 1919. Y

. THOMAS CRGSSETT. 

